The Kidlet Chronicles

Day 7: San Diego Zoo

Okay, so I'm a little late.  I'll write about day 7 then I'll start a new post for day 8.  Argh, should have just posted last night.

Not nearly as much to report as when we were in Disney.  We spent all day at the San Diego Zoo - it's a moral dilemma for me visiting a zoo, but I won't go into it here.  As much as I actually enjoyed seeing the animals, I didn't enjoy seeing them in cages so much.  I'd like to think that all the animals were rescued somehow and that they're better off there but again, not getting into it.  Just a little inner battle I don't need to share here!

We rode the Skyfari a couple times (the kidlet loves it but cowered whenever we went passed the towers and the tram bump bump bumped), took a bus tour, walked and walked and walked some more.  And ate.  And walked.  We spent some time at the Children's Zoo where the kidlet was more interested in jumping on the concrete hippo and lion than actually looking at the animals. 

What made things even more interesting was that we forgot the stroller.  She did pretty well walking about all day but the stroller would have made things just a little easier.  Dean carried her on his shoulders for a bit - yes, it took four years to get her to do that.  She got a little cranky here and there when we weren't moving fast enough for her and began with her typical "I'll kill you" threats (she has no idea what "kill" means and I have no idea where she got it from, but I think she says it now for shock value because it is SO NOT okay), but she was content for the most part.  She didn't like to linger at any specific animal too long so it was a constant go-go-go all day.

After the zoo, I wanted to get some shopping done.  We were all beat but went to the Fashion Valley Mall anyways because I really wanted to look for some clothes.  Dean was tired, the kidlet did NOT want to shop, so I made it into a couple stores and we were done.  I went into Abercrombie & Fitch and tried on about ten things, gagging the whole time on the thick smell of their perfume wafting in the air (seriously, so strong that the clothes I bought REEK of it) and trying to think over the SUPER LOUD music (I think I may be bordering on too old for that store... bordering... ha ha), walked out with three (couple shirts and a pair of shorts), then went into Children's Place and got the kidlet a few things and that was it.  No huge shopping spree for me.  Not enough time and too tired in the evening.  Should have stayed an extra day just to shop!  Would have loved to go into the Gap and look for a bunch of LONG pants because they don't offer many long sizes in Canada but they do here.  Gymboree I had put stuff on hold then talked myself out of it and never went back.  Sigh... maybe next US trip.  May have to plan a Seattle one soon.  I'm just trying not to think of all the clothes I COULD have bought.

We had dinner at the restaurant here, got the kidlet to bed (I must say that even though we're sharing a room and our beds are right next to each other, she has been falling asleep within minutes and staying asleep while we yap or watch a movie), then watched another movie (No Country for Old Men).  It was tough to stay awake but I managed.  Dean, not so much.

And that was that!

Will blog later, but for now, here's the link to today's (and a couple from yesterday) pictures:

http://www.facebook.com/p.php?i=687375942&k=S2CZYZU446T14KBFWDX5

Day 6: San Diego

Not much to report for today.  We're both bagged, my back is killing me for some reason, and I just want to lie down and vegetate and watch a movie.  So I'll try and make it quick while Dean watches the end of some crime show.  The kidlet is fassst asleep.

Got our rental car this morning, with car seat, packed everything up and were off about an hour later than originally planned.  We made it to the Zoo about 12:30 (check-in at the hotel wasn't until 4), so it only took us about an hour and a quarter to get here (helped that Dean went 80mph the whole 88-ish miles), so in the end, we were only a half hour behind schedule.

It's a bit cooler here - probably by about 10 degrees (70F, whereas in Anaheim it was nearing 80F).  Still t-shirt weather, possibly shorts, but by 5pm, it had sure cooled off and we definitely needed light jackets and pants.

We spent a couple hours at the zoo - rode the SkyTram across the park and headed down one side.  Dean and I were really tired (the busy days catching up with us, perhaps?) but the kidlet was raring to go. I can't believe how much energy she has and how she's outlasting us for the most part.  We saw zebras and monkeys and wildcats and a ton of different birds and turtles - the kidlet demanded to see the turtles right away when saw a picture of them on the map and every time we saw a non-turtle animal, she would demand we carry on to find the turtles.  We finally came across them and saw the strangest turtle I have ever seen - ever heard of a snake-necked turtle?  No, me neither.  Weird looking thing.  Anyways, saw the usual zoo animals, about 1/3 of the zoo, and by two hours in, I needed a coffee BAD.  I was tired and cranky and the kidlet's 'Mom! Mom! Mom!' were wearing me down.  After the latte, I felt much MUCH better but we decided to call it an early day and left the park about 3:30 (so almost 3 hours there) just in case there was traffic en route to the hotel (park closes at 4 anyway).

We found the hotel no problem (I had printed off directions for zoo, SeaWorld, hotel, shopping plaza, etc. before we left).  I have heard mixed reviews so I was curious as to how it was going to be.  There's a new part and an old part, and apparently the old part is pretty crappy - motel-like, noisy, small, dark - that kinda thing.  So I checked in, got our key, and we drove to the newer buildings (yay!) that overlook the bay.  We were able to park right up the stairs from our room, so it was an easy move in, especially since we're on the main floor (it's a 3 story building).  Our room is AWESOME.  What a relief.  It's HUGE and new and has a nice big patio overlooking a grassy area and the bay and part of the marina.  Two queen beds, a couch and coffee table, eating table and two chairs (I get to sit and type now - sweet!), a big bathroom with stone tiles and a big deep bath tub, a little bar area with coffeemaker, microwave, mini-fridge and sink, wireless internet (whee).  Even came with robes and the toiletry stuff is nice - no more dry HoJo soap!  This soap actually lathers!  Not that the HoJo was bad - it was a big room too, this is just SO MUCH NICER.  Probably worth a lot more too, but as we booked everything in a package deal with the flights, we don't know exactly how much we paid for everything.  Probably better that way.  I know we got a good package deal so that's all that matters, right?

No word about the kidlet's ear yesterday or today, so it must have been a fluke thing.  She mentions every once in a while how much she misses the kitties and her computer (sigh), so I think she's a little homesick but also enjoying herself.  It's probably just weird for her being away for so long (did I say that in my last post?  Can't remember.  Oh well).

I miss Disneyland already but it was time to move on.  We rode everything, saw everything we wanted to.  Didn't line up to meet any characters (lines - ugh) but the kidlet was happy just waving to them as we came across them, plus she got to meet a bunch up close and personal last night, so it's all good.  We had a really good time and it'll be fun to go back again some day.  Even Dean keeps mentioning 'the next time' - sweet!  'cause he wasn't quite sure how it was going to be.  I think he was pleasantly surprised at how much he enjoyed himself. 

So tomorrow, we're back to the zoo and hopefully I'll get me some shopping in tomorrow night at the Fashion Mall.  Laura needs some clothes!  And doesn't like Canadian prices!  I just hope I have the energy.  Must drink more coffee...

Ooops, movie time - gotta go!

Day 5: Keira's 4th Birthday

Another fabulous, 80 degree day today.  I'm so glad we decided to pack shorts and t-shirts at the last minute, because that's all we've been wearing.  It does cool off at night, but a pullover is warm enough.  What a change over our first couple days here!

Today was the kidlet's fourth birthday, so everything was all about her.  Well, we swayed her a couple times but rides were her choice today.  Upon park opening, after getting her special Birthday Button at City Hall (that she proudly displayed all day), Dean took her on Autopia - she's too short to drive, but was happy being a passenger as Dean drove them around.  While I waited and took pictures, I noted that within minutes of park opening, the Nemo ride was probably over an hour wait - huge lines.  Again, we were thankful we did it the morning we did.  As we were in Tomorrowland, we asked the kidlet if she wanted to go on Space Mountain again and she said yes.  This time, she sat with Dean.  She 'whoooaaa'd a bit, then when we got off, she distinctly said "I never want to go on that ride again" very matter-of-factly. 

We rode Splash Mountain twice (she laughed the whole time), the Haunted Mansion yet again (sigh) as well as Pirates of the Caribbean for the millionth time (although this time we got to sit up front so it was way better than the previous, what, five times?).  Pirates is officially the kidlet's favourite ride, I think.  It was nice and cool inside so we didn't mind.  We also rode Thunder Mountain once and again, the kidlet squealed and laughed through the whole thing.  We came across a petting zoo filled with nothing but goats but the kidlet didn't mind and still spent a good chunk of time alternating between all of them.  We rode Buzz again, where I still beat Dean - by 700 points (see pic).  We noticed as we were leaving that you could email your picture to yourself so that's what we did - don't know why we didn't see that the first time when I totally kicked his butt.

There were way less people today than yesterday and we only used the FastPasses for Splash Mountain because the wait time was about 25-30 minutes and we preferred to wait 45 minutes doing something else, then walk right on.  Oh yeah, we rode Winnie the Pooh again - the kidlet's third time.

So we pretty much rode everything and the kidlet's favourites more than once.  And yet, it's still kinda sad that it's our last day.

We hand lunch at Cafe Orleans where Dean and I had Monte Cristos that we're still suffering from.  For those that don't know, Monte Cristos are ham,turkey & cheese sandwiches that are deep fried and covered in icing sugar.  I know - sounded weird to me too but everyone raved about them so we thought we'd give them a try.  I couldn't finish mine.  Too rich!  And strange.  The kidlet got a small deep fried something or other with a candle in it for dessert because she was wearing her Birthday Button.  Plus every Cast Member we came across wished her Happy Birthday.  She was pretty excited at the fact that everyone seemed to know it was her birthday and she proudly told anyone who would listen that she was turning four.

Tonight was the Goofy character dinner and it was great.  The kidlet met Goofy, Pluto (no pic though because he was scooting through at the time), Minnie, Chip & Dale, Princess Jasmine, Cinderella, some cat (I'm still trying to figure out where that one is from - Pinocchio, maybe?)... and I think that's it.  They all came to the table to greet her, some several times.  Every half hour, they'd all get together with all the kids and dance.  We bought her the Princess Birthday Bucket which had a little 4" cake on top with a candle (although I hesitate to call it a cake as it was mostly icing with two thin layers of cake in between), and the wait staff sang to her.  Inside the bucket was a princess hairbrush and comb, stickers, and a pin.  And it was $20 over and above the already exorbitant price of dinner.  PLUS - before we went in, we got a photo op with Minnie and when we were eating, the photographer came by and offered us the photos - one of the kidlet and Minnie, one of all of us and Minnie - for a price, of course.  And of course, we bought them because they were cute pics and we don't have many of all of us (in fact, I'm in hardly any pictures at all).  So it ended up being a very expensive dinner but still worth it!

After dinner, we headed to Build A Bear because apparently the kidlet can't have too many stuffies.  But really, I had a $10 off coupon and knew she'd enjoy making another stuffie so we went for it.  She originally told me she wanted the triceratops but she picked a puppy with hearts all over it and named it 'Happy'.  She wanted to call it "Love" but I mentioned that that name was a little close to "Lovey", her BAB cat's name.  So Happy it was, and happy she was.  She left her naked like Lovey (no clothes - yay!) and she's now sleeping with Happy, Lovey, Blue and Marie (a little cat that Dean bought her on our second day here).  It's quite the sight.

Oh forgot - on our way out of Disney, we made sure to buy her Mickey ears and got her name embroidered on the back.  No Disney vacation is complete without Mickey ears!

So tomorrow, we're off to San Diego.  Stay tuned!  Oh, and instead of that Photoshare link, try this one instead - it's way quicker to upload the pics to Facebook and apparently you don't have to be a member to see my album - just click on the link below and then the link underneath the picture and you should see them all.

http://www.facebook.com/p.php?i=687375942&k=Z6GU35PR44YMX1MFWDY2S

And here are our Photopass pics - they'll only stay up for 30 days.  I'm not sure whether we're going to purchase any or not - $10 each for a 5x7?  Hmmm...

http://www.disneyphotopass.com/share.aspx?share=6529ddd4-bfc2-4b67-9bf1-70ba62d773ef&site=DisneyLandResort

Day 4: Sun, fun, splashes, owies, and gluttony

Dean and I have both been feeling a little sore the past couple days, probably from the miles upon miles of walking we've been doing and the jarring of the rides on our nearing-middle-aged bodies.  My thighs are a little tight (walking), my upper back, shoulders, arms a little sore (most likely from my death-like grips on some of the rides).  All in all though, we've been doing pretty well, no blisters or bruises to speak of.  Keira, on the other hand...

Just before we were about to head out to our Early Entry this morning, she started cupping one of her ears and complaining that it was 'owie'.  It got progressively worse and she was crying and we weren't quite sure what to do.  I cleaned it very gently with a q-tip, not even entering the canal or anything.  She still cried that it was hurting.  We still headed out, hoping that it was just plugged or something (she has been waking up a little bit congested but does not have a full-blown cold).  I asked the front counter where we could take her if we needed to consult a doctor, and he suggested a Medical Centre about 2.5 miles away.  He also said that they had an on-call doctor that we could call that would ask some questions to see whether it would be necessary to take her somewhere or not.  When I returned, the kidlet had stopped crying, and was just whining a bit while she ate her granola bar.  She was eating, so that was a good sign.  However, halfway down the strip, she started crying again and it was then that I remembered I had brought Children's Advil with us.  I told Dean to carry on and I would run back to the hotel to grab them, a sweater for her (she was a bit chilly even though it was COOKING out but no, she didn't have a fever) and a hat for her.

Me, run, ha ha, funny.  I ran.  I made it almost all the way back before nearly collapsing.  I slowed to a brisk walk to catch my breath, then ran the rest of the way.  I booted it upstairs, found everything I needed, and sprinted back to meet up with Dean.  I was probably gone for about 10 minutes but it felt like I was jogging for hours.  My legs burned.  My lungs burned.  I was sweating.  It was HOT.  But I made it, found Dean in a HUGE line for the Early Entry (the whole common entry area was full of people), gave her an Advil, and within fifteen minutes she was totally fine and raring to go.  Phew.  But we were still a little concerned.

We headed straight to Fantasyland to get on the rides we hadn't done yet - some of them always have huge line-ups so we were hoping that by hitting them on our early day, the lines wouldn't be too bad.  They weren't bad at all - not walk-on, but no more than 10 minute waits for Peter Pan, Alice in Wonderland and Pinocchio, all of which the kidlet loved (they're kiddie rides, of course she'd love them).  We also got in the Storybook Canal tour and that was it - we were done with Fantasyland.

There were a lot of people in the park today - we were surprised, and also thankful that we got most of our rides in on Sunday.  We headed over to Splash Mountain to get some FastPasses (even though the line was only about 15 minutes long) then stopped for lunch at the Hungry Bear restaurant.  It was another hot, beautiful, breezy day, so breezy that we had to keep things on the table pinned down or they would be airborne.  Then Dean and Keira went on Pooh while I went to get her a snack from the candy store.  I picked her up a Goofy Pez and when I reached the counter, that's when I saw them - the thing I had made a mental note of to try and completely forgot about - Tigger Tails.  Three marshmallows on a stick, surrounded by gooey caramel then covered with orange-flavoured chocolate with brown chocolate stripes.  All three of us took turns with it, even Dean, it was THAT good.  I'm glad we shared it though (although I still think I got the most bites) - it was pretty rich.  But oh so good.

Then we went on Splash Mountain.  Dean was in front of Keira, me behind.  I held onto her for most of it but she was holding onto the sidebars too.  There was a good-sized hill to start, then another one in the dark that went down then up that was totally unexpected.  There were cute animals throughout singing cheery songs as we wound our way to the Big Drop.  When we reached that, I had to hold on - I'm so not one to wave my hands up in the air - no way man.  Keira was still holding on and I stretched my legs alongside her so I knew she wasn't going anywhere.  Up up up and DOOOWWWN we went, getting a little splashed but not too badly.  The kidlet laughed about how wet she was.  I think it freaked her out but she liked it at the same time - kinda like my love-hate relationship with those types of rides.  She liked it enough to ask to go on it again, so we grabbed another set of FastPasses with the intention of riding it later.

We took the rafts over to Pirate's Island (used to be Tom Sawyer Island when I was a kid) and we pretended we were pirates looking for treasure.  The kidlet is great at pirate speak and was continually saying "Argh me hearties, we're lookin' for buried treasure - yo ho!".  She even has the growl and accent down pat.

We explored the island for a half hour or so, going into caves that were big for Keira, not so big for us, but we managed to squeeze through.  There wasn't as much there as I thought there was going to be - the Fort Wilderness thing was closed.  Still, the kidlet had a blast, other than falling down on the path and scraping her knee.

We headed over to ToonTown next because I could have sworn there was a waterpark there but alas, there wasn't.  Just lots and lots of people.  We decided to hop on the Train for a bit and I'm glad we did - I forgot about the tunnel with the dinosaur scenes - the kidlet loves dinosaurs.  We got off to check out Splash Mountain again but it was temporarily closed, so we went to do Pirates yet again while we killed time waiting for dinner (we had reservations at the Blue Bayou restaurant there).  I'm about sick and tired of the Pirates yet the kidlet absolutely loves it - kept saying "it's like a dream!" and kissing us and saying she loved us.  After that, she pointed out that there was no line at the Haunted Mansion so we did that yet again (I'm tired of that one too).  We then headed over to Splash and it was running again, so we did that one more time and this time, the kidlet sat next to Dean in the back seat and she loved it.  It was funny - they take a picture of the boat just as it starts the descent down the big hill and in each picture (for each time we rode it), Dean looks normal, the kidlet can't be seen because of someone's head, and I'm screaming my head off.  Sweet!  But not worth the sixteen bucks to get a print of it.

I forgot to mention that we rode Thunder Mountain again this morning - oh, it was right after Fantasyland - and the kidlet squealed and laughed the entire time.  The dark parts didn't even freak her out.  So we may have to do that one again tomorrow - it's a good one!

We also watched the Tiki Room show today and it was a lot of fun - pretty much how I remembered it from long ago.

About a half hour before our reservation, we decided to see if we could get in early because I was tired of killing time.  The kidlet fell down again as I was parking the stroller and scraped her knee yet again, so I was in the waiting area trying to console her when she started crying about her ear again.  It was about 7 hours after I had given her the last Advil so I guess it wore off?  I had given her another one after the second Splash ride when she said it was starting to hurt again and within minutes she seemed to be better.  But now that she hurt her knee (it was bleeding a little), she was also crying about her ear.  We decided to head in and see if she would be okay - if not, we were prepared to just leave.

Within minutes of watching the boats go by and getting her fruit punch cup with the special glowie Tinkerbell thing, she was back to her happy self.  She didn't like the punch, so I drank it.  I never ordered her dinner, just decided to share mine with her.  She mostly just ate the bread but she did eat several bites of my pork chop and some ice cubes (she loves eating ice).  For dessert we (I) decided we had to get the Pirate Boat - a chocolate chip cookie molded into the shape of a boat, covered with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, drizzled with caramel and chocolate sauce.  Yummmers.  I have pics.  Expensive dinner but the ambiance was yet again, worth it.

Completely stuffed, we decided to call it an early day today and came back to the hotel by 6.  We hung out for a bit - I gave the kidlet a bath and bandaged up her knee (glad I had the foresight to bring bandaids), then she asked to go to bed around 7:30, so I read her a couple stories, laid down with her, and she was out within ten minutes without a word about her ear.

So I'm not sure what that's all about - ear infection?  Swimmers ear from playing in the bathtub last night?  Just a flukey plugged thing?  She couldn't seem to explain what the 'owie' felt like, even though I prompted her with all types of kiddie questions.  I've never had an ear-anything and neither has she, so this is all new to me.  She doesn't have a fever and not even a real cold, and the earache just kinda came on out of the blue this morning and went away with Advil.  So what the heck?  Guess we'll see in the morning how she is.  Hope she's fine as it's her birthday tomorrow and also our last day here!!

Day 3: California Adventure

What a GORGEOUS day.  Not a cloud in the sky.  It was warm enough to take our sweaters off almost right away.  By noon it was hot and we had to pull out the sunscreen, which of course made us hot and sticky.

We arrived at the gates for DCA (Disney's California Adventure) a half hour before opening and were surprised that they actually let everyone in then.  We followed the plan in our Unofficial Guidebook and headed right to Soarin' Over California, a motion simulator ride sans the motion sickness.  Rows of around 8 people were lifted about twenty-ish feet into the air (feet dangling) then surrounded by a huge screen that showed us soaring over mountains, desert, golf courses, the city, etc.  Only a couple times did I feel the slightest quease but that was it - the air blowing in our faces helped, I think.  It was pretty cool though - did actually feel like we were flying.

We hopped off then headed towards the Hollywood backlot for Dean to ride Tower of Terror, only to notice that the rest of the park wasn't opened yet - guess they only open a section of it early.  We only had to wait a few more minutes until 10 (official opening) and in we went.  By the time we got there, there was only a ten minute wait, so Dean decided to ride it right away and I decided right there and then that I would too.  I just figured, what the heck.  Had I known, really KNOWN, how it was going to be, I can't say I would have gone on it.  Guess it's good that I didn't.

We did the child swap thing - Dean got to ride and I got a FastPass ticket to go on it right after him instead of having to line up.  While the kidlet and I waited at the exit to the ride, Goofy came out of a backdoor and we got a photo op before he disappeared back through that same door.  Dean came out soon after, said the ride was 'alright', so I went to line-up.  I got on it right away as I was a single rider and there was one space left on my elevator.

It started out innocent enough, with a Twilight Zone beginning.  Then I don't remember what happened - there was complete darkness, a lot of being shot straight up, some split second peeks out across the park from 16 stories or so up when outside elevator doors opened, with a second or so of weightlessness before being yanked back down.  My butt came off the seat several times and was thankful for the seatbelt (but would have preferred a shoulder harness).  I screamed the entire time going up, going down, but then again, everyone was.  That weightlessness is the most bizarre feeling, just hovering in mid-air, hair standing on end.  I'm not sure if I liked it or not.  I guess I did because I was also laughing the entire time, so hard I had tears in my eyes (or maybe that was from squeezing my eyes shut while plummeting down umpteen stories).  All I know is that when it finally, thankfully stopped, I was numb and I was shaking like a leaf.  Talk about adrenaline rush.

I am totally not a thrill-seeker but am getting less fearful in my old age so I'm glad I went on it.  Would I do it again?  Um.... not sure.  Probably not.  I was so relieved when it was over!

So after that, we went to ride Monsters Inc. which was welcome but a little boring.  It basically just took you through scenes in the movie.  The kidlet seemed to enjoy it though.

Again, there were no lineups, so we pretty much went on everything we could.  We did go on the Sun Wheel and I totally shouldn't have.  I have a deathly fear of ferris wheels.  Yes, I had just gotten off the Tower of Terror yet I was freaked by the ferris wheel.  I made sure we went on a stationary one (they actually have alternating cars that swing and sway and have barf bags inside - which were all BIG HUGE WARNING SIGNS to me.  As soon as we started going up, my palms started sweating and I was FREAKING OUT.  I was trying to be cool but was so clearly not.  And it stopped every car to let more people off/on.  We spent an inordinate amount of time up top and I was trying not to hyperventilate.  Then we started to descend and I was okay but then we started going up again.  Dean thought it was funny.  Keira loved looking out at the park around us.  I just sat there, hands gripping on for dear life.  I did manage to snap a picture or two but I had to put the camera away for fear of dropping it with my oh-so-sweaty hands.  Thankfully, after the second trip around, we were let off.  I think I'd rather go on the Tower than that again.

Went on some smaller rides as we headed to the rollercoaster.  Dean went on it and got on right away by using the single rider line (they put you on whenever they have a single space) and I took Keira on the carousel.  Dean brought me a single rider pass for the coaster and told me I should go on it.  I had pretty much decided NOT to but he said it was really good and not too scary (which is also what he said about the Tower but WHY DO I BELIEVE HIM?  NOTHING scares him.  NOTHING.)

So off I went, getting on right away.  The coaster pulled around the corner.  I waved farewell to my loved ones, gripped onto the shoulder harness for dear life, pushed my head back, clenched my teeth so I wouldn't bit my tongue off, and prepared for the countdown.  Four, three, two, one and we were shot off and up and over the first huge hill - first time I've ever been on a coaster that didn't slowly make it's way to the top.  And it was pretty much the same speed through the entire thing with some awesome twists, turns, another hill that did catch and take us up slowly, then straight down (or so it seemed) and around and through a loop.  It was fun but again, I screamed through the entire thing and I am totally not a screamer!  Dean went on it twice more, I declined.  After both adrenaline rides that morning, I was beat and the poor kidlet had been waiting a while and wanted to get moving.

We had lunch, where the kidlet spilled an entire container of milk all over her pants, but luckily it dried soon after because of the heat.  Then we spent some time in Bug's Land, riding some of the kiddie rides (real, lame kiddie rides) including the slowest moving bumper cars EVER and Heimlich's Chew Chew train.

We went to catch Aladdin and were about two minutes late.  We went to watch Muppet 3D instead (it was AWESOME and really 3D - I don't think I've ever seen 3D that good, plus they had external effects like air blowing at us, water sprinkling on us, bubbles, etc.).  Keira thought it was great and so did we.  We then went back to Bug's and let the kidlet run around in the waterpark (yes, see, HOT!  She may actually get to go swimming in the hotel pool, something she has been begging to do since we arrived) until the next Aladdin show.

The musical was good - the Genie stole the show.  He was hilarious but I'm sure most of the kids didn't get the jokes.  The show was about 45 minutes long and the kidlet, still damp from her foray into the waterpark, was squirmy and tired and tossing and turning and singing to herself and being shushed alternately by us.

We finally went to see Turtle Talk with Crush and the kidlet was disappointed that he didn't call on her to ask a question.  She was going to ask what his favourite colour was.  I had to talk her through her disappointment but she got over it quickly.  She was getting pretty tired and the park was about to close anyways (it closed at 6 today).

We headed over to Disneyland which was PACKED.  Where did all these people come from?  We went on one ride - Winnie the Pooh - because I had forgotten about it until today.  It was only a five minute line up - cute little ride - then we escaped to have dinner next door to the hotel.  I hope it's not that busy for the next couple days.  Too many people!

It was nice to come back to the room early enough to give the kidlet a bath, properly get her ready for bed.  She fell asleep within minutes - by 8:30, so her usual time.  At least she sleeps through us yapping, me typing, the tv on, etc.  Poor thing is pooped and still talking about how she misses the kitties.

I uploaded a few more pictures (http://photoshare.shaw.ca/view/7185014217-1203918478-36480/) - keep in mind that I have no photo editing software on this computer so I can't tweak.  Which is probably a good thing as I'm spending enough time working on the posts & pics as it is.  I'll create a proper album with more pics and descriptions after we're home.  And now, I must go to spend what's left of the evening relaxing.  I think Dean's asleep.  Where does the time go?

Day 2: When it rains, it pours

Set the alarm this morning to wake up at 6am.  Ugh.  The kidlet had awoken at 4:30 saying something about how she had disappeared but came back, then she went back to sleep; unfortunately, I did not.  Still, I was suprisingly bright-eyed and bushytailed, that is, until I looked outside and saw it was lightly raining.  But what the heck - we survived the night before in the light rain, right?   So we bundled up, me kicking myself yet again for not bringing a hat or you know, an UMBRELLA or something handy like that, and off we trudged through the rain.  The weather report had said 1mm, so how bad could it get?

Wet.  Really wet.  Soaking wet.  Chilly.  And we got to the gates a half hour before opening - needlessly, of course, because who in their right mind would hang out in the rain doing nothing for a half hour?  Why us, of course!  But, you never know.

The kidlet, how she whined and moaned and shouted at them to open the gates for us.  Finally, at 8:03 (yes, they made us wait three minutes longer!!), they let us in.  We decided to head right for the Matterhorn, as it will be closing as of tomorrow for refurbishment and I have never been on it.  En route, a cast member asked us if we were going to Nemo.  As it had been an Early Entry morning (some people got to enter the park an hour before everyone else), I assumed the lineup would have been astronomical by then (I've heard of lineups being between an hour to two hours long for the entire day) but he said it wasn't.  So we detoured over to the subs and got on within five minutes.  It starts out kinda the same as the sub ride did 25 years ago, but then goes into a whole new Nemo segment that was quite cool.  The kidlet liked it - kept standing so close to her window that she kept fogging it up - until we got swallowed by the whale.  She wasn't too happy about that, no sirree, but luckily, the whale spit us out rather quickly.  The ride was almost 15 minutes long and it was good but not great - no way would I wait an hour to ride it.

So we headed to the Matterhorn where again, no line up whatsoever.  The kidlet sat between my legs, Dean sat behind us, and off we went.  I had no idea what to expect so I tried to be all casual and cool so as not to scare the kidlet (so much for working her up to the larger rides but no lines!  Need I say more?).  She actually liked it, other than the freaky yeti with the blazing red eyes that popped up a couple times.  She didn't like that so much.

Okay, where did we go next?  Bah, can't remember exactly.  Buzz, maybe.  So I'll just write about the rides we went on in no particular order.

Buzz Lightyear Astroblasters was cool - you get a gun and have to shoot targets while turning the car side to side.  I kicked Dean's butt with my 90,000+ points compared to his 30K something.

We took the kidlet on Space Mountain.  I told her it was a rollercoaster in the dark and maybe she thought I said flight with the fairy princesses, I dunno, but she was all for it.  She 'AAAHHH'd a couple times but I kept talking her through it, saying "wheeee" a lot instead of screaming.  It was AWESOME.  Again, she didn't like it so much - not because of the turns and dips but because of the dark.

Dumbo - now this was more her type of ride.  She loved it.  Who wouldn't?  Would be nicer in the sun though, instead of rain pelting at our faces.

Thunder Mountain Railroad - she was stoked to go on this too.  Again, she loved all of it except the parts in the dark.  She does NOT like the dark.

May I just say here that we never lined up for more than five minutes for any of these rides?  How awesome is that?

We went on Pirates again because the kidlet begged to.  It was just as good the second time.

Dean rode Indy (I saved my FastPass for later) then went back to the hotel for a nap because we had gone three hours already and the kidlet was telling us how exhausted she was (yes, she uses the word 'exhausted') and she was nearly falling asleep in her stroller.  Yet when we got her some lunch and went back to the room, Dean and I both napped and she played quietly while she waited for us to wake up.  For two hours.  I wasn't completely asleep and kept waking up to see if she was getting into anything, but it was still nice to rest. 

The rain was gone and the sun was out, so we headed out again.  It was beautiful - warm enough to not need our coats - and a nice light breeze.  Total opposite of this morning!  We were on our way to ToonTown at the kidlet's request but we got blocked by the Dreams parade.  I'm glad we were forced to stop and watch it because it was really good.  Near the end, the floats all stop and do a long music/dancing segment - our float was the Lion King and man, if those songs don't make me teary-eyed every time I hear them (Circle of Life - sniff sniff).  Once the parade was over, we headed to ToonTown and let her roam through all the buildings and do all the gags, etc., then it was time to head to Downtown Disney to eat at the Rainforest Cafe.  It was a looong walk.

We got there five minutes before our priority seating time but they took us in right away and gave us an awesome table right next to a couple animatronic elephants that blinked, moved their heads, ears, and trunks about every so often, then every twenty minutes did a series of movements and made a lot of noise (what do you call the noise an elephant makes anyway?).  Every half hour, there was a 'thunderstorm' where the lights dimmed and lightning cracked and thunder rolled.  Coool.  The food was okay - nothing spectacular - but the ambiance was worth every penny.

Again, back to Disneyland through Downtown Disney.  We arrived just as the parade started again, so we scooted past it and went right to the Haunted Mansion again because the kidlet suddenly wanted to go again (even though all day she said she didn't because it was scary).  So we went on it and I covered her ears for her (she HATES loud noises - whether it's the tv being too loud, or music, or whatever) and she enjoyed it much more this time.  When the hitchhiking ghost appeared, the three of us started beating on him.  Poor ghost.  Probably doesn't know what hit him.

Then Dean took her on Pirates AGAIN while I went to ride Indy.  What an awesome ride!  I loved it!  Except the beginning when our car wouldn't start and we had to get off and get on a different one but the ride itself was amazing!  Fun!

We headed back to Fantasyland where Dean and the kidlet rode Dumbo again, then they rode the Teacups (because I don't do spinny things), then walked right on to Mr. Toad's Wild Ride (no line up again), then Dean and the kidlet rode Astro Orbiter - like Dumbo, only rocket ships.  I remember riding those as a kid and refusing to go up - just kept the rocket level the entire time.

It was nearing 8:30 but the kidlet was still bugging us to go on another ride, so we went on Star Tours.  Now I was NOT going to go on this, but I didn't want to hang outside by myself.  Mom and I went on this ride in DisneyWorld and we were both so motion sick after, it pretty much ruined a good chunk of our day.  Still, I decided that maybe I'd be better now.  I never used to be able to read on transit and now I totally can. 

As soon as it started, I had to close my eyes.  That familiar feeling in my head, stomach, the extra saliva - not pretty.  I kept my eyes closed and focussed on the kidlet's 'AAAAAHHHH' (and it's not a scream, by the way, she just says AH in a low voice - AAAAHHHHH - oh wait, I guess that doesn't help you hear it... oh well).  We were all tired and on the way back to the hotel, the kidlet crashed in her stroller (that stroller by the way?  Best investment EVER.  So light, easy to turn, high handles, big enough back for her to sleep in - sweet).  Once in the room, I got her dressed, woke her up to go pee, put her in bed, and she was asleep in two minutes flat.

And now I'm tired (geez, this takes a long time).  I uploaded a dozen pictures here:  http://photoshare.shaw.ca/messages/viewthumb/7185014217-1203918478-36480/preview/page/1/15/ if you want to have a look.  Didn't take many in the rain (love my drenched look?) but took lots in the sun but unfortunately, I can't figure out how to resize pics in batches so they take forever to upload to the Photoshare site.

Got to watch the fireworks tonight from the room and they were pretty amazing (according to Dean - I only watched bits here and there but what I saw were good).  Okay, I'm fading here.  I gotta go.  At least we can take it easy tomorrow morning - tomorrow is our California Adventure day and it doesn't open until 10am - yay!

PS Dean just reminded me about how often the kidlet has mentioned that she misses the cats.  She said we could stay here for three more nights then we had to go home because she misses her kitties.  Awwww...

We made it!

Oh man, am I beat.  But I promised myself I would keep a daily journal while here in Mouseland, so here I am.  It may not be pretty, but it'll be better than nothing!  Doesn't help that I'm currently typing this while kneeling on the floor - the internet access thingamajig is on the night table between the two beds.  I would have thought it would be by, you know, the DESK or something, but apparently people like to do their surfing in bed.  Alrighty then.  I'm hoping to type fast before I lose all feeling in my legs.

So... up bright and early (okay 7am)... oh crap, got something in my contact... hold on... ow... wait, going to put on my glasses... be right back...

Okay, back.  Boy are these glasses dirty. 

Finished up packing this morning, Mom and Dad came to get us at 9:30am to take us to the airport.  We were told to be there 2 hours early, we were there almost 2.5 hours early.  I had checked us in online yesterday (and was able to change our seats from the second to last row to the second row - yippee), so we quickly checked in, breezed through Customs, checked our bags, took off our shoes and coats for another security check (remember, it's been 10 years since I've flown anywhere, so this is all new to me).  The kidlet did NOT want her shoes taken off and was pretty upset until we were able to put them back on.  After all that, we still had two hours to kill, so we stopped at Starbucks for a much-needed coffee and muffin (didn't have any food left in the house for breakfast), then wandered down to the end of the building and came across a kid's play area where the kidlet ran rampant and made a whole ton of friends for about an hour.

We sat the kidlet by the window seat and aside from her whining for more and more SweetTarts (I bought her candy to suck on hoping it would help her ears pop), she did really well.  When the plane took off, she held on and said "Wheeee!".  She played in her workbook for about fifteen minutes or so, then laid her head on Dean's lap and slept for an hour and a half.  Sweet!

The descent was not as fun for her, and she cried about her owie ears and refused to open her mouth wide or do anything that might pop them.  A woman behind us gave us a piece of gum and that placated her a little - she's never had gum before so I think it distracted her.  She still whined about her ears but she wasn't freaking out anymore. 

We landed and the kidlet was disappointed that we weren't actually at Disneyland yet.  She whined and moaned and demanded to go to Disneyland NOW.  But we had to get our bags, then waited ten minutes for the Disneyland Express bus, which took 45 minutes to get to Anaheim.  It stopped first at the Disneyland Hotel for some reason, then finally we were off to drop everyone off.  Luckily, there were only 3 families on the bus including us, so we didn't have to wait long after that to get to our hotel  We were last.

We're about a 10 minute walk to the gates at Disneyland - half of that is just walking from the street into the park (through the transit area), so we're not that far at all.  Our room is nice with two queen beds, a balcony looking towards the Matterhorn (oops, forgot to watch for the fireworks tonight... unless they haven't started yet but you think we would have heard them?), a fridge, a bathroom - you know, the usual hotel stuff.  We saw kids swimming in the pool and figured they must have been from the Arctic to think that this is warm weather. 

It was rainy and cool when we first arrived so we bundled up, had dinner at a restaurant en route (where we had HUGE salads for like $8), then were in Disneyland by about 7.  As the kidlet had napped on the plane and partially napped on the bus, she was raring to go.  It rained on and off, mostly off, so we just kinda wandered around, trying to get our bearings in the dark sans map.  The kidlet was fascinated by Cinderella's Castle so we had to walk through it first, which led us to Fantasyland where there were still long line-ups for some of the rides (we've got plans to see Fantasyland on our early morning to avoid those) but we got on Casey Jrs. train right away and the kidlet was enthralled, huge grin on her face.  Then we headed over toward ToonTown, went through Minnie's and Mickey's House, saw Mickey within five minutes (got pics but will have to upload tomorrow - too tired!), then went to the Haunted Mansion at the kidlet's request (she freaked out until we got to the end part that showed a big ghost party and she thought that was pretty funny - also loved the hitchhiking ghosts and tried to beat it to death, laughing maniacally).  We wandered by Pirates of the Caribbean on the way back and there was only about a five minute wait so we decided to do one last ride before calling it a night - the kidlet and I were exhausted.  She LOVED the dips and LOVED the entire ride, repeating "Arrrgh, me hearties" the entire time.  We'll have to do that one again.

We made it back to the room around 9:15 and the kidlet wanted to go to bed pronto. Unfortunately, as soon as she laid down, she got a nasty frog in her throat that took her about half an hour to clear.  Finally out by 10pm.  I immediately set down to figure out the internet thing.  I plugged the ethernet cable (or whatever it's called) in to the box behind the tv but the computer wasn't recognizing it.  It wasn't until I called the front desk and told them that they said it was the wrong box and the right one was on the nighttable.  Oh yes, the one with HIGH SPEED INTERNET ACCESS written across it.  Ahem.  Haha.  Thanks.  Still, a stupid place for it if you ask me.  I can no longer feel my legs.

We'll have an early morning tomorrow (park opens at 8am),so I'll be signing off now.  Stay tuned!  It's supposed to rain again tomorrow!

Three more sleeps

Time's a-ticking and I'm getting even more excited as Saturday draws near, if that's even possible.  But there is work to be done and the trip to prepare for (prescriptions, ordered more contacts, got a new camera card (4gb = 1200 pictures - think that will be enough?  Ha!), toiletries (little ones so I'm not packing the mongo-sized ones), buying snacks and things to keep the kidlet occupied on her first plane trip ever, figuring out a rough itinerary so we're not standing in the middle of Disneyland staring at a map and wondering where to go next - you know.  The planning takes longer than the trip!  But it's fun in itself and it keeps me from leaping about the house shouting "I'm going to Disneyland!  I'm going to Disneyland!" every minute of every day.

Weather-wise, it's supposed to shower this weekend in sunny California (ahem) then clear up, but a little rain doesn't bother me (um, look where we live!) and apparently, the lines disappear when it's raining, so even better!

The kidlet has been a handful lately on and off and I've had to threaten to call Mickey numerous times.  She is excited about the trip but not talking about it constantly, so I don't think it's over-excitement (guess it could be subconscious).  She's been waking up a couple times a night for this or that (usually because she's 'lost' one of the four stuffies she sleeps with - ugh), so that could be it too.  She wakes up tired, fights going to school, and fights everything else for the rest of the day, too.  Unless I give into her every whim, of course, then she's happy as a clam.  But as soon as the word 'no' or 'how about later' enter her sensitive ears, all hell breaks loose.   

I will totally be blogging daily while we're there, so it will probably be the most consistent posting I've done in months.  We're taking the laptop and the hotel we're staying at has high-speed internet, so we should be good to go (knock on wood).  Then maybe I'll get in the habit of posting more regularly again instead of when I remember to.  Seems lately that after I get the kidlet to sleep at 8:30, I watch a movie with Dean and/or go to bed and read and totally forget to even come on the computer (er, except to play Scrabble and Scramble).

Tomorrow is cleanup and laundry day and Friday is gymnastics and packing day.  We'll have a girl coming in to feed the cats and fish and clean the litterbox and grab the mail and basically make sure that the cats don't burn the house down while we're gone.  Hopefully our old limpy cat will try not to make too much of a mess for her (ahem) - I'll have to warn her about him.

Anyhow, three more sleeps!  Two more days!  Whee!

Odds and ends

You know, the problem with only posting once a week is that there are so many things to say on a daily basis that by the time several days go by, there's so many details that my brain starts to filter them, then all but forget them.  Like tonight.  My mind, she is blank.  Now according to Tolle, that's a good thing.  Not so good when you have family who wants to find out the latest regarding the kidlet.  So I'll do some bullets today and see what arises:

- The tantrums still continue a few times a week but they aren't lasting as long before I'm able to speak to her without her turning all exorcist on me

- The other day, after she was being particularly horrid, she raced to get her Magnadoodle, came back, and showed me what she had written:  AM SORE

- She loves to write and is constantly asking me how to spell things.  On a picture she created today with various Valentine's stickers, she wrote 'Keira mailed this note for Muma'.  Yes, she spells Mama with a 'u'.  There is no convincing her that it's supposed to be an 'a'.  I'm realizing more than ever how complicated the English language is.

- She has troubles writing the 'K' of her name but she's slowly getting it.  Are they even supposed to be printing right now?  She gets her 's' backwards once in a while and when reading, often confuses the small d and b.

- She is doing way better at school with regards to butting heads with the teacher.  All I have to do is remind her every morning to behave and to listen, and it seems to work.

- She loves her Schoolhouse Rock DVD and watches the Science Rock segments hundreds of times in a row.  She now knows more about the digestive, circulatory and nervous systems than I do.  I've discovered that 'Interplanet Janet' is a song that will NEVER LEAVE YOUR HEAD EVER.  "Interplanet Janet she's a galaxy girl...."  Argh.

- She helped me wash the dishes the other night.  It took twice as long as usual but hey, if she loves to do it, more power to her.  Soon, she can have chores!  Real ones!  "Cinderelly, Cinderelly all I hear is Cinderelly".  She helped me wash and pluck a huge bunch of grapes today.

- At my niece's sixteenth birthday party last Saturday, we decided to take the kidlet with us even though it didn't start until 7. I was hoping she would catnap on the way out but no such luck, and as soon as we arrived, she was saying how tired she was (her bedtime is 8:30 so I thought she'd at least last until then).  She thought the music was too loud (still has sensitive ears) but quieted down after we started to eat around 8.  After dinner, there was about 45 minutes of speeches.  The kidlet really really tried to wait for the cake but she ended up zonking out in Dean's arms, waking up only to clap after each speech then fall back asleep.  I eventually took her and held her against me, telling her I would wake her up when the cake arrived.  She hasn't fallen asleep on me in years, so it was kind of nice.  We had cake at 10, packed a piece home for the kidlet (didn't have the heart to wake her), and left.  No, she did not sleep in.  Yes, she had the cake for breakfast.

I'll stop now.  I'll try and post more regularly so these aren't such huge brain dumps.  I do have a video of her doing the Chicken Dance (they learned it in school), so I'll have to upload that at some point.  Hopefully before we leave for Disney.  Can't wait!

Oh dear

Wow, has it been that long since I last posted?  What is up with that?  Well, I'll tell you what's up with that.

I've been busy.  Very very busy.  Too busy.

The reception I planned for work on the January 31st went pretty much without a hitch.  About 300 people or so showed up and everything went smoothly, although the weeks leading up to it were absolute chaos - long hours for me, lots of phone calls from a panicking Boss Man, a lot of juggling suppliers and trying not to forget anything.  So by the time I got dinner made and the kidlet off to bed every night?  I was zonked.  Things have quietened down a smidgen, so I'm now trying to get caught up on the last month of my regular work that got pushed aside.

Add to that, the kidlet has been a handful lately.  Doesn't like to hear the word 'no' and will proceed to scream, yell, hit, kick, and throw things as though I'll eventually give in.  She makes it so hard on herself.  Apparently, I was the same way as a kid.  Ah, payback.  Anyways, when I picked her up from school yesterday, her teacher said they had some issues where she had to give the kidlet a time out, during which she shouted, said she wanted to 'kill her', hit the fridge, then refused to put on her shoes and coat.  So we had a loooong talk yesterday but seriously, I wonder if any of it actually sinks in.  Guess we'll see when I pick her up today.

It takes quite a while for her to calm down while in full tantrum mode (terrible twos were NOTHING compared to the threes) - probably about a half hour before she's calm enough to discuss things with her.  And even then?  Stubborn to the core.  Wonder where she gets THAT from...

But it's not all bad.  Actually, it's mostly good.  She's smart, funny, playful, loving.  She helped me wash the dishes last night - yes, it took twice as long but she really wanted to help and it's about time I start slowing things down and enjoying the ride here.  Today, I think we'll bake muffins.

I read a great book called The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle, and something seemed to click while I was reading it.  I've been really trying to apply the principles he speaks of - shutting out negative mind chatter and mental movies by either stepping back from my thoughts and watching them (thereby distancing myself from the stupid and useless things that run through my head every so often and the emotional turmoil that follows) or dropping the negative thoughts altogether and just enjoying The Now, the Present moment.  Allowing myself to just Be without labels or negativity or guilt or stress.  My stress levels have decreased dramatically, so something's working.

Don't worry, I'm not getting all preachy.  It works for me.  I've always been struggling to find my way spiritually (not necessarily religiously) and never fully realized that I'm already there, I already have access to inner peace and joy without having to look for it externally.  Kinda cool.

Uh, anyways.  Yeah, that's about it.  And planning our trip to California - whee!  2.5 more weeks!